All three are world-leaders with respect to the use of social media. Bangkok is the city with the highest number of active Facebook accounts in the world. Istanbul ranks 7th in this list. In the Philippines people spend highest average number of hours in the social media worldwide. For all three countries, the diaspora communities play an important role for the establishment and stabilisation of the current governments. Finally, in all three countries, social media – in particular Facebook groups – are instrumental for political mobilisation within the countries as well as among the diaspora communities. Against this backdrop, I am looking into diaspora-based Facebook groups and their genesis and their role in the political dynamics of their countries.
Wolfram Schaffar
The struggle for democracy and rise of authoritarianism is a global phenomenon. Thailand, the Philippines and Turkey mirror this trend in a prominent way. The nature of the authoritarian governments in Thailand, the Philippines and Turkey is very different. Yet the three examples share some striking features: